Legal Question in Traffic Law in Virginia

Re: Suspension of liscence

DWS(Driving While Suspended)is a criminal (and jailable)offense, and, therefore, if at all possible your husband should hire a criminal defense attorney to represent him who is expeienced with the traffic court in the Lexington area where presumably your husband will be prosecuted.

And, no, you will surely not "lose everything" because of this traffic misdemeanor offense, and, furthermore, I see no reason as to why your husband's employer would necessarily have to know about it(at least right now unless he drives a company vehicle).

Re: Suspension of liscence

First, getting a lawyer is not always as expensive as you might think, particularly for this kind of thing, where it involves probably just one hearing and a little preparation time, IF the lawyer does these kinds of cases all the time.

So do not ASSUME that you cannot afford an attorney. Check around in your area. (If you have trouble, try going to the same court NOW -- not waiting until your court date -- and just watch the cases being called. You will almost certainly see which lawyers are handling similar cases, and you may be able to see a very good one right in front of you. Watching them in action sure beats trying to guess who can help you and who can't.

Second, Virginia is rather harsh when it comes to many such issues. More things are misdemeanors -- crimes -- than one might imagine. The long-term consequences of a criminal conviction are far greater than most people realize. So they make a short-term decision, a short-sighted decision, not to spend the money. I know money may be tight, but the long-term effect makes the money spent now a bargain in the long run.

That said, I think this is not a "Do It Yourself" project. You might still have trouble even with a lawyer, but you will at least have a shot at pleading to a lesser offense or getting it removed.

One thing that you should be working on is to "CURE" the suspended license if possible. WHY was it suspended?

If your husband is eligible to have it fixed (including taking a driver improvement course to earn some points), it REALLY HELPS to go into court and show that the problem is already corrected. No guarantees, but it is possible to have the judge dismiss the charge upon seeing that it is all cleared up with the DMV already.

But that assumes it was suspended for administrative reasons, not for something serious like DUI.

He should also request a copy of his driving record from the DMV. Do not rely on memory.

And if time permits, he might go ahead and take a driver improvement school anyway, just to show the judge he is trying to improve. You can find schools listed on www.DMVNow.com with some considerable effort.